Vanguard Group Inc. Has $33.67 Billion Position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 232,792,559 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,772,706 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson comprises 0.6% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Johnson & Johnson worth $33,666,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corepath Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Corepath Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $175.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $163.40 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $156.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.25. The company has a market cap of $393.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $169.99.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.